Humoral immunity after Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine in healthcare workers of ASL Roma 2 (Italy)

The Unit (COU) of Microbiology and Virology of Sandro Pertini Hospital began monitoring the immune response on a cohort of healthcare operators who received the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine. Three different tests for the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were used showing 100% of seroconversion after 28 days from the first dose.

Correlation between cycle threshold and viral load through comparison of RT-PCR qualitative versus quantitative assay for SARS-CoV-2

Background and aims. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold-standard assay to detect SARS-CoV-2, but it has limitations compared to viral load analysis. Quantitative detection improves surveillance, diagnosis, and prevention. We performed a comparative study of qualitative and quantitative tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19 on respiratory samples from patients screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and explored the correlation between viral load compared to the threshold cycle (Ct) value obtained in RT-PCR.Materials and methods. Sixty respiratory samples from patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 were subjected to both the qualitative (Allplex ™ 2019-nCoV Seegene) and the quantitative (Clonit® Quanty COVID-19) assays, and the relationship between viral load and Ct value was assessed by Spearman correlation analysis (ρ). In addition, the viral load of samples collected from a patient with symptomatic cancer was monitored. Results. The results show 100% agreement between the results obtained with quantitative assay and the reference standards, whereas 99.2% agreement was found for the qualitative test. A strong negative Spearman’s correlation between the Ct values of the N genes and RdRP gene was observed from qualitative assay values and viral loads.Conclusions. Quantitative assay has a higher sensitivity than qualitative assay, and viral load testing allows the clinicians to better orient themself in the choice of therapeutic treatment to be adopted. The constantly higher viral load of clinical cases considered, irrespective of the different therapies used, confirms that viral load monitoring could represent a great advantage in clinical practice.

No-touch automated disinfection: test results using 254nm UV-C light

COVID 19 pandemic has led the world authorities, in particular health authorities, to totally reconsider the infectious problems in all public places and in particular in hospitals, that are also burdened by specific risks, due to the concentration of subjects at risk and the consequences that necessary treatments, such as resistance of infectious agents to the drugs used, may involve. Therefore, traditional and innovative methods were compared to obtain adequate protection from contaminants, paying particular attention to the disinfection method by means of ultraviolet rays emitted by a special robotic instrument named R2S Robot. The studies carried out on the subject show that UV-C method represents a rational, effective and economically sustainable choice to ensure adequate disinfection, not only of hospital environments in general but also of frequently visited environments such as public areas and institutions, schools of all types and levels, public and private offices, especially in the light of the new regulations that have totally changed the general approach and the degree of responsibility towards not only the regular visitors of the nosocomial environments, but also the dedicated operators.

First case of Arthrographis kalrae pulmonary infection in a patient with AIDS

Arthrographis kalrae is a hyaline fungus. It is a saprophyte of the environment, mainly found in soil and compost. It is a rare isolate in clinical specimen. In recent years this pathogen has been attributed to various cases of opportunistic infections. Our patient was a 51-year-old Indian woman, farmer by occupation, who had HIV infection and was under HAART treatment. She presented with complaints of cough with scanty expectoration for 2 months. Her CD4 count was 75 cells/μl. Induced sputum was collected and sent for detailed microbiological examination. Bacteriological and mycological profile was checked. The causal agent was identified as Arthrographis kalrae based on morphological characteristics (culture). Unfortunately, samples could not be preserved and sent for ITS region sequencing due to COVID-19 outbreak. The case is of interest because, to the best of our knowledge, Arthrographis kalrae has not been reported so far from our country, India.

Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae as a cause of urinary tract infection in a diabetic woman: A case report and review of literature

Group C Streptococci comprises of Streptococcus dysgalatiae that is further divided into two subspecies, namely S. dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis and S. dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae. S. dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae is mainly an animal pathogen but few cases of human infections have been described in the literature. A 40 year old patient presented to the hospital with complaints of pain in pelvis and suprapubic area. Urine sample of the patient was subjected to microscopy and culture for isolation and identification of the etiological agent. S. dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae was identified from the clinical specimen of the patient by conventional and automated methods. The patient was successfully treated with third generation cephalosporin. With newer or rarely reported pathogens causing human diseases and increase in number of immunocompromised individuals in the population, the pathogenic potential of such isolates should not be undermined and a careful correlation with the clinical profile should help guide a clinician in optimum treatment of the patient.

Prevalence of non-polio enteroviruses infections among children in Northern Nigeria

Background: Human non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) have been associated with certain life-threatening disorders in children. However, there is paucity of NPEV infection data in most developing countries. This study determined the 3-year prevalence of non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) among children in some Northern States of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Duplicate stool samples were collected from 27778 children ≤15 years. These samples were processed and analyzed for characteristic NPEVs cytopathic effects (CPE) on L20B and RD cell lines. Tests were considered positive if the duplicate samples produced distinct CPE on both cell lines. Results: Of the 27778 samples processed, 3991 (14.4%) NPEVs were isolated. Participants of the male gender (14.5%) within the age range of 0-5 years (14.7%) from Yobe state (15.3%) whose samples were received in the month of June (22.2%) and in the year 2015 (18.8%) had the highest prevalence of NPEVs. June had significant risk factors of NPEVs (p˂0.001, OR=1.95 [95%CI: 1.60-2.34]). However, there was no significant association between age, sex and location of sample collection with the prevalence of NPEV (p˃0.05) Conclusions: This study revealed a relatively high prevalence of NPEVs among the study population. This calls for the need for government implementation of consistently improved water, food and environmental hygiene.

At “half mask” or “nose commando:” A note demonstrating nasal breaths can spread microorganisms when improperly wearing a mask during COVID-19

Many individuals are wearing face masks improperly at ‘half mask’ and potentially breathing out microbes that can contaminate the air as well as anything below the nose. This note provides the first report that bacteria and fungi breathed out during nasal air exhalation are able to be cultured after landing on blood agar plates. The CFU’s are higher after both 10 breaths and extremely significant for 20 breaths compared to the control plates exposed to the air. Implications of this finding are that going ‘nose commando’ may be able to continue the spread of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19. Minute bioaerosols carrying bacteria may be designated as microsnot.

The clinical relevance of pathogen Aerococcus urinae identification by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry: a case of sepsis in 86-year-old Caucasian male

The infrequency of urinary tract and blood stream infections caused by Aerococcus urinae is most probably due to the difficulties in the identification of this bacterium using standard microbiological methods. With the introduction of more sensitive and accurate techniques in clinical microbiology, such as genetic approaches and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS), the incidence of infections due to A. urinae increased. Herein, we described a case of urinary tract and bloodstream infection caused by A. urinae, which occurred in an 86-year-old Caucasian man with a previous history of prostate cancer. The identification of A. urinae was performed by MALDI-TOF MS, since this microorganism cannot be identified by biochemical reactions. In this report, we highlight the need to consider MALDI-TOF MS as technique of choice for A. urinae identification in the presence of subjects with predisposing factors, such as old age, male gender, and genitourinary tract pathologies.

Guidance to post-mortem collection and storage of biological specimens for the diagnosis of Covid-19 infection

The following document is based on the current knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and the related disease (COVID-19). The Italian Institute of Health (ISS) is monitoring the virus spread throughout the country through daily reports sent by individual regions and regional reference laboratories. The diagnosis of infection is based on the use of standardized and validated molecular tests for the search for viral RNA in different sets of biological samples, from patients suspected of having contracted the infection. This document provides a specific guidance for the collection and storage of biological samples from deceased persons. It also provides recommendations on safety practices to be adopted during both collection and handling of specimens, and during autopsy procedures. With regard autopsy, it is recommended to follow the procedures for the execution of diagnostic findings in patients died with SARS-CoV-2 infection issued by ISS Working Group on Causes of Death from COVID-19, published on March 27, 2020.

Epidemiology and antibiotic resistance in community-acquired lower urinary tract infections in the Milan area

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infectious diseases occurring in the community and healthcare setting. Most community-acquired urinary tract infections are usually treated empirically. The knowledge of antibiotic resistance patterns of the microorganisms causing UTI is essential for defining the empirical treatment. The aim of the present study is to investigate the prevalence and the resistance patterns of bacterial species isolated from lower urinary tract infections, in a large population of Milan area. A retrospective analysis of the isolates obtained from urine samples received at the microbiology laboratory of Centro Diagnostico Italiano of Milan was performed from January 2019 to December 2019. Urine samples were plated on differential medium by automated inoculation system. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed using the Phoenix 100™ system. All results were interpreted according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing breakpoints. During a 12-month period a total of the 51,980 urine samples have been processed and 21,4% (11.148) were found to be positive (bacterial count ≥105CFU/mL). Overall Escherichia coli was the most common Gram-negative bacteria of all isolates (72%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.8%) and Proteus mirabilis (3.3%). Susceptibility of E. coli to oral antimicrobial agents was demonstrated to be as follows: fosfomycin (97%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (76%), ciprofloxacin (89%), ampicillin (51%) and amoxicillin/clavulanate (77%). The present study point-out the common antibiotic resistance trend of uropathogens in this area. Our results will help in the formulation of antibiotic policy and determination of empirical treatment of urinary tract infection.